Re-order of elections timetable: INEC dares National Assembly, insists polls will hold as planned
Yakubu / Photo Credit: Vanguardngr.com
The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, on Monday maintained nothing will changed its earlier timetable for the 2019 general elections.
The country’s electoral body stated this in the wake of growing calls from the National Assembly that it changed the earlier timetable released for the election.
CRISPNG recalls that INEC had last year declared that presidential and National Assembly elections would hold February 19, 2017 while the governorship, state assembly and area council elections in the Federal Capital Territory would take place on March 2, 2019.
However, the country’s legislative arm had faulted the sequence of the election as released by INEC, requesting that the timetable be altered, and consequently amended the Electoral Act such that the National Assembly election would hold first while the presidential election would come last.
The bill has since been transmitted to President Muhammadu Buhari for assent.
But speaking during a chat with newsmen in Abuja, INEC Chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, stated that the Commission is unperturbed by calls for reorder of the elections, saying it is standing by its earlier decision.
Yakubu described the ongoing calls as mere speculations, which the body cannot take serious at the moment.
He however, did not out rightly rule out the possibility of a change in the coming days.
According to him, “There are many ‘ifs’ but here, we deal with certainty. As far as the commission is concerned, there is no legal lacuna at the moment . What we have done is on the basis of the existing law and nothing has changed.
“If the bill is accented to, we will look at the provisions and inform Nigerians on the next step . But as far as the commission is concerned at the moment , we are operating under the existing law and we have issued a timetable for the activities accordingly
“If something happens tomorrow, we will examine it and proceed accordingly . ”
“Right now , the draft is on my table based on the current schedule of activities . Thereafter, we will submit it to the approving authorities,” he added.
